TAKE THE HAND OF A CHILD

Take the hand of a child...feel the tiny fingers clasp yours. It may be smeared with a popsicle or chocolate candy or ice cream. The hand is probably dirty from playing with a dog or cat. You may notice a bandaid on the finger, or a wart on the thumb. But the hand that you hold is the hand of the future.

Someday that little hand may hold a Bible...and work to proclaim the Word of God; or that little hand may hold a gun...and seek to take the lives and property of others.

Someday that little hand may work diligently...to provide the needs of a family; or that little hand may jerk and tremble uncontrolled, by the mind of a drug addict.

Someday that little hand may reach out to render aid to those who are in need...or simply reach for another bottle to satisfy the torturous cravings of an alcoholic.

Someday that little hand may be a tool of generosity and hospitality...used by a truly committed disciple of Jesus...or a tool of greed and selfish ambition, used to lay up treasures on this earth.

But right now...that little hand is in yours. It is attached to a child who is filled with wonder...whose heart is pure and clean and whose mind is filled with a desire to learn.

What an opportunity! What a responsibility! The question is...What would you do with this little hand? Will you help guide this little hand? And mold this little heart?

Will you work to guide this little child to Jesus? It will take time...it will take sacrifice...it will take diligence. The opportunity is yours! The opportunity is now! And the opportunity is fleeting! Will you take the hand of a child?

By Wendell Ingram

(Written by the little boy in this picture about 38 years later.)